AT the beginning it was New Brunswick's rivers that linked the peoples. The annals of our water highways are filled with stories of wars and raids, as well as peaceful trade and settlement. The waterways link us to both past and future, and in recognition of this, a River Heritage Conference in Fredericton is being planned for early summer, to celebrate these connections and the art, music and literature that have arisen from them.
"Our Waters" is also the theme of Heritage Week, starting Feb. 12, when the array of topics will include sport and recreation, transport and shipbuilding, and preservation of the vibrant histories of the rivers.
First there were the native peoples, paddling canoe loads of furs to barter with French traders. In the 18th century, after defeating the French, the English force sailed up the St. John River to burn the French Acadian settlements, clearing the way for incoming settlers from New England. As the American Revolution took hold, thousands of displaced Loyalists created a city at the mouth of the St. John River. Soon little communities started to spread up the St. John and Kennebecasis Rivers, as the refugee families move out onto their land grants and begin to rebuild their lives.
The valley of the Kennebecasis would come into its own as a focus for development and settlement, and from this region come many colourful stories.
Once upon a time, and not so long ago, some New Brunswickers were champions of the world, and the world knew about it and came here to see them.
In the late 1860s Saint John's champion crew of oarsmen had defeated all contenders at a great international meet in Paris, France, to be declared best in the world.
